auctionjunky

hello there ... love this 1996 Lexus LS400, but it has a bad spark plug wire, so I'll be replacing them. I remember trying to tackle the job about 3 months ago, only to discover that it's not as easy as some cars. Does anyone have detailed instructions on how to do it correctly? thanks

fixed. it was a blown fuse that my test light didn't detect. moral of the story for me; pull each fuse and visually inspect! thanks for your assistance, everyone

fixed.. timmy.. ra and 381 inspired me to actually pull each fuse instead of relying on the TEST LIGHT ... ecu fuse (driver kick panel fuse box) second row up, 1st fuse to the far left 15a blown... replaced it and all is good. thanks for your input everyone.. i spent like 20 hours on this car because i was convinced it was a major issue that knocked out so many things at one time .. lol.. i spent zero dollars.. just replaced a fuse.. calling lexus to cancel my order for a shift solenoid

i removed my solenoid, had to unbolt the gated shifter housing by removing the four bolts on the very bottom (DO NOT REMOVE 4 BOLTS ON TOP.. ONLY REMOVE GATED HOUSING BY REMOVING 4 BOLTS ON THE BOTTOM)... trust me. My solenoid has 33.33 ohms of resistance when the max is 28 ohms, but when i run 12v to it, the cylinder inside the solenoid retracts as is should. I'm trying to decide if it's a complete waste of time and money to buy a new solenoid (or salvaged one) because of the 5.33 ohms difference, since the solenoid does work with 12v applied. I need some advice from you experienced electronics techs.

yes, i needed access to the shift lock solenoid. i took the solenoid out and ran 12V to it, the shaft inside the magnetic cylinder retracts like it should, however, i have 33.33 ohms of resistance when i should have 28 max. will replacing the solenoid with one with 5 ohms less resistance solve the issue or is that another long shot? like you, i really do despise burning through money for obscenely overpriced parts to find out it doesn't solve the problem.

i'm trying to test the same thing. it's held on by two small gold screws that you can see over in the upper right (when looking down from the driver's seat)... when you pull it out though, there's a spring and a metal rod that'll fall off, the end of the rod hooks into a lever, you'll see. i fished the metal rod out through the opening up top with a thin telescopic magnet, i grapped the metal rod with one of those funky tools with a lever that looks like an intake valve at the end and a claw at the other end, the one you use to retrieve screws. now i'm trying to figure out how to remove the connecter the solenoid is attached to in order to test it correctly, which brings me to your post. whatever you do, don't remove the 4 gold bolts on top of the shifter, some idiot decided to put 4 nuts on the opposite side of the plastic cover, they fall off, now you have to remove the entire console and drop the dash plus cover beneath the steering wheel, then remove the bottom plastic portion of the shifter housing, ask me how i know. nobody even touches this topic. i did find this link. . http://bgbonline.celicatech.com/94_6gmanual/shift%20lock%20system.pdf

figured it out, remove center console and remove 4 bolts holding it down, the 4 nuts that thread into the bolts to hold the top portion of the shifter down fall beneath the bottom portion, absolutely awful design flaw that just kills you if you ever remove the 4 bolts

how do i remove the bottom plastic portion of this shifter assembly? i heard four nuts or rivets fall down when i removed the four 10mm screws that hold the top part down. i believe i need to remove the bottom portion of the plastic white assembly and at least partially thread those screws or rivets into the 10mm screws that came out of the holes the silver pointer in the lower left is aimed at in the photo. thanks for your input. :) btw, my problem was that i couldn't shift out of park, and my brake lights were working. that long thin plastic elbow attached to the release lever (being held on by that make-shift green twisty) was detached at the pivoting end. hoping this fixes my issue and lexus has that clip available (yeah rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrright.. they'll try and sell me the 4000 assembly). i'll buy it off ebay or car-part.com (which is several junkyards pooled together in one convenient site).

wires along trunk look like-new. checked battery at auto parts store, it tested good. cleaned and inspected all connections at alternator and fuse box / battery. ground connections look good.

took ecu out today, no capacitor leaks of any kind, the board looks fantastic. next up, checking wiring along left side of trunk lid. if that's a no go, going to check ignition switch / wiring.

did the circuit test, no drain detected. also had alternator checked at the auto parts store, passed, so the alternator is good. not a drop of fluid on the alternator, looks fairly new, denso reman. i'm leaning towards maybe an ecu issue or cruise control module. or both. should i go after the cruise control module or ecu, first? note: when i connect a diagnostic tool to the service port, it registers, and it reads trouble codes just fine. does that rule the ecu out? This is a head scratcher, when you run across a head scratcher, don't rule out the ignition switch... now I'm all over the place.

thank you both for the great advice. come to think of it, my cruise control is out as well. do you guys think the stuck in park issue be related to the possible bad alternator or are they two separate issues?

Hello, this is a 1996 LS400 with 220k miles. I bought it in LA at an auction, so I dont have the repair history. It should be noted that it's usually over 100 degrees this time of year in Vegas, and this car was spoiled in 80 degree So Cal weather. After a 120 mile drive, parked it overnight to find the yellow abs light on and the vehicle stuck in park in the morning. The red battery discharge light might be pulled, it doesn't come on. I used the override button to put it into drive and get it back to Las Vegas. 15 miles from home, the battery died. Tried jumping the vehicle, but it wouldn't hold a charge. Pulled the positive terminal and the vehicle wouldn't stay running, indicating bad alternator. Towed it home. Charged battery for 45 minutes, turned it over with all accesories on and the vehicle stayed running, but the abs light is still on, stuck in park. The brake lights work, including the 3rd brake light. Checked all fuses under dash and on driver fender area, no blown fuses. I don't know how to properly check the relays so I left those alone. When I go to put it into gear, I hear clicking from under the steering column, might be the brake switch. Measured voltage with vehicle off, about 12.55, with vehicle on, 12.2. Sounds like the alternator is bad. I don't see any moisture from the power steering pump on top of the alternator. I'll just remove the alternator and have it checked out. My real concern is the abs and stuck in gear issue. Is the alternator or weak battery related to the abs light and stuck in gear issue? And can a defective brake switch still trip the abs light even if the brake lights are functioning as they should? Any help is greatly appreciated, :)